What Did Jesus Mean by "But I Say..."? [UPDATED]

IMPORTANT NOTE:  This article was originally published on December 27, 2021 but contains a serious error that I am correcting here.  You can still read the original in its entirety through this link.  Other than this one correction, this post is completely unmodified from the original.

The Dangers of Fake Faith Healers

In the previous post, I exposed how some false prophets/teachers use certain verses to protect their dangerous teachings from Biblical scrutiny.  In that post, I mentioned that some of these false teachers also claim to bring healing for those who need it, nevermind the physical injuries that may result from the other things that they do.  I thought it would be good to expose these self-proclaimed "faith healers" for what they really are:  Frauds!

The faith healing is actually one of the things that these people would have gotten right if they were going by what the Bible says.  For Yeshua gave his disciples the authority to heal in his name (Matthew 10).  And there are numerous places where he made it very clear that healing comes by faith.  For instance, Luke 8:48.  Too bad they're serving a false god with a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit.  Deuteronomy 13 definitely comes into play here.  And remember:  the Deuteronomy 13 Test is not just us testing the teachers.  It's also Yahweh testing us to see if we will keep his commandments or follow other gods.  So even when the healings are real, that doesn't mean that what the healers are doing is Biblical.  In fact, there's no guarantee that it's even from Yahweh.  For most of these "faith healers" are part of the New Age cult, which is 100% witchcraft.

I saw a video on YouTube once where a girl with one leg shorter than the other went to a "faith healer" for the shorter leg to grow to be the same length as the other leg.  Actually, this video was exposing the fraud of the faith healer.  One thing that stuck out to me though was how the preacher was saying this very lengthy prayer for the healing to happen, which for some reason included a description of the process of the shorter leg growing to the same length as the other leg.  Matthew 6:5-7 comes to mind here.  But instead of the prayer being lengthy because the preacher thinks that Yahweh will hear him.  The prayer is lengthy to distract from the fact that the healing is being faked right in front of everyone's eyes!  The preacher was making it look like the girl was being healed when in reality he was slowly pulling the shoe that was on her shorter leg to match the position of the shoe on the longer leg.  The girl's faith, along with the faith of her parents, was probably shattered by this fake healing.  But the audience believed that it happened and praised God.

In another instance that I saw, the preacher proclaimed a healing of a lame man in the name of Jesus and the man stood up in the isle with the attention of everyone in the Church.  The preacher then proceeded to throw the man's cane away.  There's just one problem with the whole thing:  The man that was allegedly healed wasn't lame in the first place and the cane was not his!  It belonged to the woman next to him, who was still lame after the service.  After the service was over, someone interviewed the man who was allegedly healed and he stated exactly that during the interview, but said nothing during the service.  Neither did the man next to him, who was probably too heart-broken to be able to say anything.  Oh, and these are instances where nobody was injured or killed from these healings.

By the way, I think I found one of the videos I was referring to.  This is a video of an investigation conducted by ABC in the early 1990s.

In one instance that I heard about, the preacher proclaimed healing to a person with epilepsy, and who was on medication to prevent epileptic attacks.  I do not remember if it was a man or a woman, but the person believed they were healed and stopped taking the medication.  Some time later, this person drowned in a pool after having an epileptic attack while swimming.

In another instance I heard about, a woman diagnosed with cancer was punched in the stomach by the preacher, with the preacher proclaiming "you are healed" in front of the congregation.  The woman fell to the ground as expected by the crowed (see last post).  After a few minutes, she got up with her and the whole crowed believing she was healed.  She died a few days later, and it is believed that the punch to the stomach is what finished her off.

Now, go read the Bible very carefully.  Also, take note of Matthew 11:20-24 about the purpose of all of the healings and miracles that Yeshua did.  All these things were intended to bring the people to repentance.  But the slightest bit of research will reveal that these "faith healers" just want to make a name for themselves, and use their fraudulent healings and ministries to get rich!  Glory to Yahweh comes second to these wicked people.  And there is no bringing people to repentance.  Neither is there any preaching of the Good News of salvation through faith in Yeshua!

By the way.  If you do have a medical condition that is healed, make sure to go to your doctor to get that healing on your official medical record. so you can provide proof to anyone who asks, and as a testimony to your doctor, so that he or she may believe in Yeshua and be saved.  And also so that if you ended up getting conned by the minister, then you will know it before your medical condition can threaten your life.

I myself have witnessed some faith healings.  At one Messianic congregation I used to go to, the preacher was a huge Todd Bentley fan, and towards the end of one of the services, people were going up to get healed.  I don't recall anyone falling over, though this was a long time ago, but I do remember there was one man who required an oxygen tank to breathe.  He went up for healing and a few seconds later, let his oxygen equipment fall to the floor.  This must have scared half the congregation because next week, the preacher addressed the congregation about how the doctors found that this man's oxygen levels were normal.  The man continued to attend after that as long as I can remember, but I never saw the oxygen tank again.  Also, unlike the video above, nobody was called up by name, and the prayers for healing was not blasted through the speakers.  In fact, I think the microphones were turned off and the speakers were playing some music.  Back then, I didn't know about the Deuteronomy 13 Test.  But after that healing service, the congregation went off the deep end and I never heard of any more healings from there again.  Then Todd Bentley got found out.

At another Messianic congregation I attended (this one referred to Todd Bentley condescendingly as "the angel worshiper"), there was an obese woman who was allegedly healed of some sort of knee condition.  And while I wasn't there to see her alleged healing, I was well aware of the alleged healing but didn't really know who it was.  Then one day I came into the building to see her collapsed on the floor with about 2 or 3 people standing around her, praying for her.  Later, I found out that she was the one with the alleged healing.  This congregation also went off the deep end, but more slowly than the first.  And I don't know of any real healings from that congregation, though there may be a very few that I do not know about.

So what's going on at these two congregations?  And I doubt that these are the only two congregations that this has happened to.  What I think is happening is that they recognize that there should be healings happening all over the place, as the Bible says.  And for a short time, healings do happen.  But let's think about what inspired these places to have the faith that results in these healings.  It was from the New Age movement, and these congregations didn't have the discernment necessary to distinguish between the Biblical and unbiblical teachings.  And the New Age movement uses Biblical teachings as part of it's deception.  So rather than staying true to Biblical doctrine once these healings start happening, they adopt the Biblical sounding heresies of the New Age movement and the healings stop.  Then nobody can figure out why the healings stopped because everyone believes that the heresies that they have adopted are Biblical.  As Hosea said in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."  Also, these two congregations, while I was there, seemed to have no knowledge of the Deuteronomy 13 Test.  And neither did I while I was attending them.

Weaponizing Matthew 12:31

In Matthew 12:31, Yeshua states that blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  For quite some time now, people have been claiming to have heard from the Holy Spirit various things.  Or claim that the Holy Spirit has done various things.  How do these people know it was the Holy Spirit?  They don't!  Because they don't know how to test the spirits.  Those who do know how to test the spirits will easily be able to find everything wrong with what the "Holy Spirit" is saying or doing, and prove that it's not actually the Holy Spirit saying or doing these things.  But what happens when these counterfeit spirits are exposed for what they really are?  Those who claim to have heard from the Holy Spirit invoke Matthew 12:31, and even 1 Thessalonians 5:19.  In other words, they will claim that you are blaspheming or quenching the Holy Spirit.

As with any doctrine that cannot withstand Biblical scrutiny, the wolves claiming that the Holy Spirit is speaking to them do not tolerate you testing the spirit to see if it's from Yahweh.  Instead, they claim that you have committed the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, or that you are quenching the Holy Spirit in order to silence those who know better, and to cause impressionable people to believe that whoever opposes them are in the wrong.  Of course, if any spirit claims to be the Holy Spirit but is not, then that spirit must be quenched and exposed for the fraud that it really is.  For no spirit that is from Yahweh will falsely claim to be the Holy Spirit.

Testing to see if a spirit is actually the Holy Spirit requires knowledge and a robust understanding of the Bible.  Especially of the Law of Yahweh, the Prophets, and the teachings of Yeshua.  A good understanding of what the Holy Spirit has done historically is also of great significance.  Particularly, what the Holy Spirit did as recorded in the book of Acts.  It's actually a shame that so few Christians have even read the Bible, let alone understand it.  And while I'm not claiming to have a perfect understanding of Scripture, I understand enough to know that the spirits claiming to be the Holy Spirit, are actually from the enemy!

Let me give you an example.  Paul's conversion.  What does Acts say happened to Paul during his conversion?  Acts 9:1-9 reveals that Paul fell to the ground!  The Bible does not reveal if it was the Holy Spirit that did this, but for the sake of the argument, let's say that it was (though I don't believe it was).  Notice that Paul was receiving correction from Yeshua when this happened.  If we take a look at instances in the book of Acts, instances where Yahweh isn't correcting anyone, we see that not one of them ever fell to the ground.  The only ones who fell to the ground were the ones receiving correction!  Think about that!  And also think about how those who allegedly have the Holy Spirit fall in such a manner that there is a very serious risk of injury.  Funny how the alleged proof that the Holy Spirit is doing those things can result in injury instead of healing, which is often what is promised.

When these counterfeit spirits aren't making an awe-inspiring display that fools the people into believing that they are the Holy Spirit, there's saying things which contradict what Yahweh revealed through his Law, the Prophets, and his son, Yeshua.  And they also contradict the accounts that the historical records give concerning the Holy Spirit's actions.  Records that Yahweh made sure were written by people of integrity!  These spirits are calling Yahweh a liar!  Among the lies that these spirits teach are vein repetition and counterfeit tongues (which numbs the brain, making them more susceptible to possession), that those who have the Holy Spirit can lose control over their bodies (that's actually demon possession), and prosperity gospel.

Of course, we can't forget the most basic test:

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. [1 John 1:3; NKJV]

Nobody seems to test the spirit concerning this one basic thing, or other like it (eg: whether Yeshua is the son of Yahweh, or is the Messiah).  It's kind of important to get this information from the beginning, so that nobody will be deceived later on.

Misunderstanding the Doctrine of Obedience

Have you ever heard the claim that "obedience to God's Law is by definition, salvation by works"?  Well, that's a lie!  According to Deuteronomy 13, those that love Yahweh obey his Law.  And those that rebel against his Law by definition, practice idolatry!  Is it possible that someone will keep Yahweh's Law as a means of salvation?  Yes.  But there are other reasons to keep the Law of Yahweh.  For example, to prove that you love Yahweh.  Or to prove that they believe in Yeshua.  Yeshua said that those who love him will keep his commandments (John 14:21).  And Yeshua commanded us to live on every word of Yahweh (Matthew 4:4).  You are not living on every word of Yahweh if you are rebelling against his Law!

This misunderstanding concerning obedience is understandable.  Simply put, the teaching that, "one cannot be saved so long is one is living in rebellion", can be easily misinterpreted as saying that it's the obedience that saves you, rather than faith in Yeshua.  For example, Hebrews 10:26 makes it clear that those living in rebellion have no atonement.  But it is also clear from other passages, such as Romans 3:19-20, make it clear that, even if one were to stop rebelling against Yahweh's Law, they would still not be saved!  And Yeshua said, "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men [Matthew 12:31; NKJV]."  So the one who stops their rebellion will be forgiven of their rebellion.

While this may look like salvation by works, it's not.  It only looks that way because living in rebellion will prevent you from being saved.  If someone stops rebelling against Yahweh's commandments, that does not automatically mean they are saved.  It just means they can be saved.  Salvation still comes from believing in Yeshua.  All this can be summed-up by the following saying:  "Obedience cannot save you, but rebellion will condemn you."  You might have also heard this saying:  "We do not keep the Law to be saved.  We keep the Law because we're saved."

There are some things that need to be addressed.  The ultimate reason that this misunderstanding exists is because Satan wants to keep us away from Yahweh.  And he does that by deceiving us into believing that the Law is bad, and that keeping it is bad.  Yeshua warned against this tactic when he said, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men [Matthew 15:8-9; NKJV]."  Their hearts are far from Yahweh because they do not keep his commandments.  So now you know that drawing close to Yahweh starts with keeping his Law.

There are of course human motivations for believing that obedience is salvation by works:  People do not like change!  They want to continue in their ways and their hearts deceive them into making excuses for continuing in what they now know is sinful.  This is an excellent example of the mind being governed by the flesh not being able to submit to Yahweh's Law, as Paul warned about in Romans 8:7.  For teachers, there is even more motivation to teach this:  Money and/or power!  Or rather, the love of money and/or power.  People generally have itching ears and will not tolerate anyone who does not tell them exactly what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3-4)!  And guess what:  You can't maintain a Church building if nobody is there to give their "tithe" to the Church.  Then there are the wolves!  These teachers know the truth, and teach the opposite.  It is their job to make sure that you perish in the Lake of Fire!  By the way, the more people realize that God expects us to keep his Law, the more wolves will make themselves known.

How Often Will a Christian Sin?

Have you ever heard someone say, "You will sin every day in thought or deed!"?  How true is that saying?  Under what circumstances might it be true?  And under what circumstances might it be false?  And is it possible to never sin?  First, we need a definition for sin.  Leviticus 4 is a good place to start.  Notice that it says "whoever sins and breaks a commandment" multiple times.  This means that the definition of sin is breaking God's commandments (that is, his law).  And 1 John 3:4 also confirms that this is the definition of sin, as does the Apostle Paul, on multiple occasions.  For instance, in Romans 7:7.

Now that we have a definition for sin that comes directly from the Bible, we can begin to answer the question of whether it's true that a Christian will sin every day in thought or deed.  To start, let's reread something that Jesus said at the beginning of his ministry:

13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. [Matthew 5:13-16; NKJV]

How much of a light are we if we sin every day?  Aren't we just like the world if we do?  And before anyone pulls the "but we confess that we sin" card, doesn't even the world admit that they do what is contrary to the ways of God?  Some even take pride in it, and even sit in judgement of God's Law, rather than submitting to it.  So if it is true that a Christian sins every day in thought or deed, then that Christian shows the world that there's no difference between believing in Jesus and not believing.

So if a Christian does sin every day in thought or deed, that Christian either (a) has not learned what is or is not sin, (b) has not learned to be careful so that he or she does not sin, or (c) does not care what God's commandments are and is therefore not actually a Christian.  Jesus told us to be perfect (Matthew 5:48), so it is possible to never sin.  But who has done so, except Jesus himself?  Didn't Jesus also say to "sin no more"?  Again, it is entirely possible for someone to never sin again!

What would it take for someone to never sin?  First, it would take a perfect knowledge of what God's Law says about everything, followed by a perfect understanding of all that it says.  It would also take a perfect understanding of which commands are currently impossible to keep (there are some commands which cannot currently be kept as prescribed).  And if two or more commands come into conflict, which command take priority.  Finally, that person would have to always be careful to never break a single command, ever!  But who has ever done that except Jesus himself?  That is exactly why we need to trust him so save us as he promised.

So, Jesus told us to stop sinning and to be perfect.  But he also said that anyone who sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34).  And that those who love him will keep his commandments (John 14:21)   So the one who believes in Jesus will make every effort to not sin.  What does this mean?  It means the one who believes in Jesus will study God's Law, so that he or she knows what is right and what is wrong.  That person will also try to implement what he or she has learned, so as to not do anything that is contrary to God's commandments.  Finally, such a person will also be very careful not to break any of those commandments.  The person that does all of this will rarely sin.  This is the duty of everyone professing faith in Jesus.

Generally speaking, the teaching that someone will sin every day in thought or deed is accompanied by a teaching that, when examined closely, boils down to "you're going to sin anyways, so don't bother trying not to sin".  This of course is contrary to everything that Jesus taught.  The same people who teach this also try to correct Christians for their sin.  Does anyone see the hypocrisy in that?  If you teach "you can't not sin, so don't even try", then you shouldn't be surprised when someone follows that teaching.  It does not matter if it is a big sin or a little sin.  Neither does it matter if a person merely doesn't care if they sin, or if they actively seek to deliberately commit sin.  If you teach "don't even try", and someone takes that to heart, you reap what you sow!

Now, what about if we do sin by accident or without knowing that we have sinned?  That's where the grace of God comes in.  For the one who believes in Jesus, the blood of Jesus covers these types of sins.  When we become aware of our sins, we confess those sins and repent.  And God forgives us of those sins.

Ministries Do Not Believe Their Own Doctrines

Most mainstream "Christian" ministries list certain doctrines that you must believe in order for them to acknowledge you as a "real Christian".  And this list is basically identical between ministries.  These doctrines are said to be very important for the faith.  However, there are other doctrines that these same ministries hold to that, if true, completely undermine the credibility of the "important" doctrines that you "must believe" in order to be a "real Christian".

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, [2 Timothy 3:16; NKJV]

Some ministries point out that the above verse literally says "all Scripture is God-breathed", then assert that this means that every word that is in the Bible comes directly from the mouth of God, and that the Bible is therefore inerrant.  By the way, if you really want to be literal, then the verse should say "all writings are God-breathed".  For the word translated as "Scripture" is the Greek word "graphe", which literally means "writing" or "document".  Have fun explaining that one away.  But they are right about it saying that it's "God-breathed".

These ministries that hold to the inerrancy doctrine because of their interpretation of 2 Timothy 3:16 typically invoke the slippery slope for anyone who does not accept their doctrine.  They may also say that if you don't believe it, then you're not a "real Christian".  In fact, some don't even allow you to challenge the interpretation given.  So, how do these ministries show that they don't believe the doctrine that the entire Bible is the direct word of God?  There are a few ways in which they do this.  One of those ways is by ignoring the front of the book completely (with the exception being Genesis for some of these ministries).  Here's another way.

1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [1 Timothy 4:1-3; NKJV]

What would happen, say, if someone pointed out that God himself commanded us not to eat the flesh of pigs (Leviticus 11:7-8)?  Well, these ministries will all quote 1 Timothy 4:1-3 and assert that such people are teaching doctrines of demons.  That's right, those who claim that the Bible is inerrant call a command of God "doctrines of demons" without any hesitation!  Of course, if they call a command of God "doctrines of demons", then that also means that they are calling God himself a demon.  This same God that they are calling a demon gave us Jesus, which also means they have completely undermined the Gospel!  By the way, anyone who calls even one command of God "doctrines of demons" calls all of God's commands "doctrines of demons", for the same God gave all of the commandments found in Torah.  Also, if their interpretation of 1 Timothy 4:1-3 is correct, then the Bible is not inerrant and they really should not be listening to Paul.  By the way, it's God's Law that determines what is or is not food.  And the definition of "food" that Paul is using in that passage is that which is found in God's Law.  And God says that pigs are not food.

For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. [Hebrews 7:12; NKJV]

Here's a passage that many of these ministries will use to justify not keeping God's Law.  The Greek words translated as "change" in this passage is "metatithemi" and "metathesis" respectively.  These words literally mean "to transfer".  Also, Psalm 119:160 says that all of God's judgements are eternal.  The Law of God is a list of God's judgements concerning what is right and wrong.  Some of these ministries, when confronted with the question of "who created God", will rightly point-out that God is eternal and does not change.  If that which is eternal does not change, then that means God's Law also does not change, for it is said to be eternal.  So if their interpretation of Hebrews 7:12 is correct, that means that Psalm 119 is wrong, which means that the Bible is not inerrant.

Here's another point:  If the Law needs to be changed, then that proves the Law to be in error.  But if the Law is in error, then the Bible is not inerrant.  And if their interpretation of Hebrews 7:12 is correct, yet the Law is not changed, then it means that Hebrews 7:12 is in error, and the Bible is not inerrant.  There are more ways that they undermine this doctrine, but it's time to move on to the next doctrine that they undermine.

That doctrine, or rather, doctrines, would be the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus.  While some ministries make it their job to prove the inerrancy doctrine to those who don't believe it, no ministry in mainstream Christianity allows you to challenge the Trinity.  And most don't allow you to challenge the Deity of Jesus, though all of them show that the latter is able to easily withstand scrutiny.  Now, whether the Trinity is right or wrong is beyond the scope of this post.  This post will simply cover how these ministries undermine the credibility of the Trinity (and the Deity of Jesus).

In one of the excuses that these ministries use to rebel against God's Law, they will assert that the Law is impossible to keep, or that it's somehow burdensome, and that Jesus freed us from God's Law.  Are you noticing a pattern in how these "most important doctrines" are being undermined?  One aspect of the Trinity is that Jesus is the same God that gave us the Law of God.  But when it comes to God's Law, the God of the "Old Testament" is portrayed as an oppressive being while Jesus is portrayed as having freed us from said "oppressive" being.  That means that Jesus is a different god than the one that gave us his law.

By the way, remember how I pointed-out that these ministries will call certain commands of God "doctrines of demons" without hesitation?  Well, if Jesus is God, but what we call the Law of God is really "doctrines of demons", then that also means that Jesus is not the same God who gave us his law.  Yet if you insist that he is and hold that some of his commands are "doctrines of demons", then you're believing in the wrong god, and the wrong trinity!  Oh, by the way:

20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. [1 Corinthians 9:20-21; NIV]

This passage is often quoted like this:

In 1 Corinthians 9:20, it says that we are not under [or "we are free from"] God's Law.  In verse 21, it says that we are under Christ's Law. 

See what happened?  They misquoted 1 Corinthians 9:20-21 to make God's Law be in direct opposition to Christ's Law.  "We are not under God's Law, we are under Christ's Law."  But if this is true, then that means that Jesus is not the same God that gave us his law.  Also note that in all of these examples, the doctrine of the Deity of Jesus is also thrown away for the sake of rebelling against God's Law.  Oh, and remember back to the post exposing the serpent's deception in Genesis 3?  The very first deception was making God's Law look oppressive!  In fact, the occult teaches that a serpent freed us from an oppressive god through knowledge.  If you replace "serpent" with "Jesus", and replace "knowledge" with "the cross", you have Church doctrine!

All this goes to show you which doctrines are actually important to these ministries.  They'll be quick to say "if you don't believe the Trinity, you're not a real Christian", yet they will just throw that doctrine to the side if it means they don't have to obey God's commandments.  Some will also say "the Bible is the inerrant Word of God", and "rejecting Biblical inerrancy is dangerous to your faith", but have no problem portraying the front of the book as being in error for the sake of their idolatry (rebellion against God's commands), so long as nobody catches onto the fact that they're doing just that.  Remember, you can either do things God's way, or make for yourself golden calves.  If you refuse the former, you are doing the latter by definition.

And if you think that things couldn't get any worse.  Well, it's about to get even worse.  Revelation 13:11-18 describes a one world religion and a mark that everyone must take if they want to live.  This mark is known as "the mark of the beast".  Now, nobody seems to know what exactly this mark is.  But there are a lot of claims about what this mark is, and even claims about it's precursors.  Which of these claims is correct is beyond the scope of this post.  But some ministries will dismiss the mark of the beast as mere "conspiracy theory".  This tells you all you need to know about such ministries.  Such ministries are part of the system that will bring about the mark of the beast.  And they want to make sure that you cannot identify it as such, so that when it comes, you willingly take it, unaware of what it really is.  In this case, they have sacrificed the inerrancy doctrine by calling Revelation false prophecies, because they are part of a (probably global) propaganda campaign designed to trick you into getting the mark of the beast!

What Did Jesus Mean by "But I Say..."?

The phrase "but I say" or "but I tell you" appears in the Gospels quite a few times.  But what does it mean?  Let's examine the first time it appears, which is in Matthew 5:22.

21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister [without cause] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. [Matthew 5:21-22; NIV]

It appears that Jesus is quoting from the Law.  And indeed, the Law does say, "you shall not murder" [Exodus 20:13].  However, the Law does not say, "anyone who murders will be subject to judgement".  It says the one who murders is to be put to death [Numbers 35:16-21]!  Is Jesus making the Law harder to follow?  Not at all.  For the Law says, "love your neighbor as yourself" [Leviticus 19:18] and, "do not bear a grudge against anyone" [Leviticus 19:18].  What Jesus is doing here is linking Leviticus 19:18 with Exodus 20:13.  If you break the later, then you've broken the former in your heart.  This wouldn't be the only time that Jesus linked two different commands together, so that breaking one means you break the other in your heart.  In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus linked coveting with adultery.

So what about the next example?  Here's a verse where Jesus appears to be overriding God's Law.

31 "Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."  [Matthew 5:31-32; NIV]

The Law does indeed say that anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce [Deuteronomy 24:1].  But here's the question:  Is Jesus forbidding what God has previously allowed?  Or is the intent behind the command in question being misused?  Remember the Deuteronomy 13 Test.  And the fact that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for nullifying the Law of God:

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!"

3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.' 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is 'devoted to God,' 6 they are not to 'honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. [Matthew 15:1-6; NIV]

So according to Jesus himself, anyone who nullifies the Law of God is guilty of sin.  This means that it can't be that Jesus is nullifying Deuteronomy 24:1 by forbidding adultery.  So it must be that the intent of Deuteronomy 24:1 is being ignored.  What's the intent?  The word translated as "uncleanness" is the Hebrew word "erva", which means "nakedness" or "shamefulness".  If you read through Scripture carefully, you will find that sin is always linked with shame, with the former justifying the latter.  In other words, the intent of the command is to allow a man to divorce his wife if he finds out that she has been sexually immoral.

So then, what's with Matthew 19:8, where Jesus appears to be saying that the commands concerning divorce are not of God?  If Jesus was doing just that, it means that the inerrancy doctrine is wrong.  Also, remember Deuteronomy 13?  Moses could not have put that command there if God had not approved of it!  Otherwise, Jesus would be guilty of sin by forbidding what God's Law has allowed.  The issue here is the intent of the command, which agrees with what Jesus is saying.

Here's another example of Jesus apparently contradicting God's Law.  Mind you that Jesus is God, and God does not change (if he does change, then he cannot be eternal).

33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." [Matthew 5:33-37; NKJV]

If we take a careful look at the Greek text, you will notice that the "not" in verse 34 is a qualified not.  The most likely qualifier is the word "falsely" between "swear" and "at all".  What's going on here is that the Pharisees (in typical fashion) are saying, "If you swear by the Lord, you are bound by that oath.  But if you swear by other things, then the oath means nothing."  Jesus had a few things to say about the Pharisees rules concerning what you may or may not swear falsely by.  To paraphrase, "anyone who swears by anything is bound by the oath that they swear."

One more thing.  I noticed that the NIV says in verse 37, "All you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."  Notice the clear change in meaning between the two translations.  The saying, "let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'" means we are to speak truthfully when we swear.  But the saying, "all you need to say is simply 'yes' or 'no'; anything further is from the evil one" is a clear violation of Deuteronomy 12:32.

To summarize, when Jesus said, "but I say", he either contradicted a human rule by what he said, or brought to light the intent of God's command, or linked breaking one command (one that cannot be enforced) with breaking another command (one that can be enforced) in your heart.  Never did Jesus speak against God's Law.  For he gave the Law and told King David through the Holy Spirit that the Law is eternal [Psalm 119:160].